I feel an obligation to set the record straight. Actors that say they're affected by something, that it changes their life, that they take it home with them, they're just trying to get nominated for an Oscar!
I hope Hong Kong and Asia wants to hire American Asian actresses as much as Hollywood has been hiring Chinese actors from Asia.
As an actor, you hope to find roles that are challenging to you as an artist. Then if you are truly blessed, you will find that it also carries a message that you can impart to your audience.
The job of an actor is the same in all of them, really. I mean, you're just creating a character that you hope people will believe, so it doesn't make that much of a difference really.
People need to realise what real happiness and success is, because success as an actor is fleeting. You can be up there one day and gone the next.
Sometimes an actor will stumble on the joke, and I'm right on them. Back it up before the audience hears the bad version of the joke, because humor is 90% surprise. If they know what's coming, they won't laugh as hard.
When I was in New York, I was making a living. We had a summer house and a car that I could put in a garage. That's something for a stage actor.
I remember running up to my dad and saying, 'I want to be an actor when I grow up!' And him saying, 'Yeah, well we'll talk about it.'
My mom and dad were actors when they were younger and had a horrible experience of it. My dad became a literary agent and my mom a casting director.
My dad always said there's four phases in an actor/director's life. There's 'Mario Who?' There's 'Get me Mario!' 'Get me a young Mario,' and 'Mario Who?'
I'm an actor. I was trained by Stella Adler, one of the greatest teachers of the world. I was 19 years old, and she frightened me to death. I was her houseboy for a while.
Every young male actor dreams of being James Bond in an action movie. And that's their first role. But the truth is, when it comes down to it, that's not relatable.
My mother is a professor of early childhood education. When I was two she would say she knew I was going to be an actor.
I think of myself as a journeyman actor. I've got some talent and I work hard, but people like Brando or Pacino - those people are touched by God.
I don't think actors should ever expect to get a role, because the disappointment is too great. You've got to think of things as an opportunity. An audition's an opportunity to have an audience.
New York is a great place to be as an unrepresented actor because there are so many 'open auditions' that you can show up for without being submitted by an agent.
One of the great things about doing series television is the guest actors that you can have come on and play around with.
The great thing about being an actor is things happen to you very quickly. I like to put myself in the way of surprise.
You always want to make sure that you're not the weak link. You're surrounded by really talented, great actors and singers, so just staying on your game is the main thing.
I'm definitely not your stereotypical actor: the loud, cackling type who strolls into a room and grabs everyone's attention with a great story. I've always been much more of a listener.
I think filmmakers, in general... There are some awesome, really great filmmakers - but on the whole, filmmakers, actors, I think they are the biggest bunch of whiny, over-paid babies on the planet.
